(pocket-neighborhoods.net. ) The first pocket neighborhood is in Langley, WA.

Pocket neighborhoods: beyond the dream home to a dream community

APRIL 09, 2013

Erika Riggs, Zillow

The homes usually number around a dozen and center around a shared garden, quiet street or alley. The homes even can be apartments, so long as the homes are focused around a common area, rather than segmented and facing the street.

“Pocket neighborhoods are really built around the fact that our human nature is social,” Chapin said. “When a small group of people are together, they chat, conversation is spontaneous. With a pocket neighborhood, I’m trying to provide privacy — that’s essential — but balance it with the opportunity to engage with other neighbors.”

This isn’t a radical or really new idea, says Chapin. But his take is the first contemporary example of pocket neighborhoods, and as a concept, it has taken off. Chapin authored a book about the idea, and every day he fields calls from across the country and beyond from people interested in innovative housing. Pocket neighborhoods have popped up throughout the U.S., from Chapin’s homebase in Washington state to a new neighborhood called Inglenook, which is currently being constructed in Carmel, IN.